Defying the expectations of their large size and rotund shape, hippopotamuses are fast. They can reach speeds of around 30 kilometers per hour in a short sprint, though they trot at roughly 10 kilometers per hour for longer distances. Sure, that’s not going to prompt anyone to compare them to the cheetah, but it does make them faster than many animals, including typical humans.
People would lose in a race to hippos in the water, too. Hippos spend over half their time in the water, even though they can’t swim. They have little fat, but very thick skin and a lot of muscle, making them too dense to float. They run and jump along the river bottom, with much of their weight supported by the water. Powerful leaps allow them to move along the bottom of rivers or lakes at 8 kilometers per hour, which is more than enough speed to outrace human swimmers.
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